Two High School Football Players Kicked Off Team For Kneeling During National Anthem

Two Texas high school football players were kicked off their team after taking a knee during the national anthem over the weekend. The players said they wanted their protest to gain national attention and it worked.

From Click 2 Houston, Cedric Ingram-Lewis and his cousin Larry McCullough - two football players from Victory & Praise Christian Academy - were kicked off the team after taking a knee during the national anthem Friday night. They told their coach, Ronnie Ray Mitchem they were going to follow through with their protest after being told not allowed because he felt it was disrespectful to the flag.

Lewis said he knew he'd be disciplined while he had his hand in the air and his cousin was kneeling. The coach reportedly made them strip down from their uniforms and dismissed them from the team.

Coach Mitchem who is a Veteran said the act was disrespectful to him and other Veterans, according to FOX News. He also noted he doesn’t oppose protesting, but not during the national anthem. However, Ingram-Lewis mother was upset and said that the players shouldn’t be told what time they can and cannot protest.

He has a slave master mentality. If you were to go back to that when they wanted to tell us this is what you are going to do and this is how you do it and if we didn’t comply, we were beaten, whooped or even killed.

Coach Mitchem addressed the situation via Facebook.

Across the country, professional athletes have taken a knee during the national anthem to protest racial injustices. As you know last year Colin Kaepernick became the first NFL player to use this platform as a way to protest police brutality and racial inequality - it's been catching on to say the least.